Have we met before?
by three-colour-rainbow123
Summary: Naruto and his friends wake up to find themselves back in the Road to Ninja world, Naruto face to face with his counterpart Menma. Everyone gets to meet their other-world twins and Naruto gets to see his parents again. But despite this, they must find a way back to their own world. Can they successfully get back to their dimension? Story's much better than summary!
1. Chapter 1

Naruto Uzumaki awoke with a start, very aware that he was not in his bedroom. For starters, the ground below him was cold, uncomfortable concrete, and the walls arounds him were hard stones. Both of his arms were tied together behind him and the darkness was almost claustrophobic in the strange conditions he had woken up in.

Immediately, he began to struggle against his bonds.

"Stop moving," ordered a voice. Naruto jumped. He had not sensed this man in the room, despite the utter quiet. This man was obviously a shinobi.

"Who are you?" Naruto demanded angrily. "What do you want with me?"

"I want nothing from you," the voice said calmly. Naruto's skin creeped with how familiar the voice was. "What I want to know is what you want in our village - imposter."

The flame in the lantern guttered to life, and Naruto's squinted at the sudden light. Through the steadily adjusting blurry vision, he could see a face with blonde spiky hair. But even when his vision cleared and he was staring straight at the face, he could do nothing but allow his mouth to gape open in shock.

There in front of him was his exact replica. Except for a few differences, this boy looked exactly like him, from the orange jump-suit to the three stripes across his cheeks. His eyes were as blue as his, except they were half closed in scrutiny. His arms were crossed tight, giving a calm yet dominant air. The only real obvious difference were the two pieces of hair either side that hung long - like his father's.

Finally, Naruto had his ability to speak again.

"ME THE IMPOSTER?" Naruto shouted. "I DON'T KNOW WHO YOU ARE BUDDY BUT I THINK YOU'VE GOT SOME THINGS WRONG YA KNOW!"

"You and your friends were found in a sleep like state in the Temple of Dreams."

"Friends?" Naruto mumbled. "You mean… my friends are here too?"

His look alike nodded. "Quite a few of them I might add. When counted, there were thirteen, including you. Four female and nine male."

Naruto was suddenly worried. "Where are they?" Naruto demanded. "They better be okay, ya know!"

"They're safe in a cell, all together and still fast asleep."

Naruto's jumping nerves calmed a little. And then his curiosity started to get the better of him.

"You said something about- The Temple of Dreams?"

"The Temple of Dreams has been here since the village was built. We go there to mediate, and become one with the dream energies."

"Look, my name is Naruto Uzumaki and -"

"Naruto?" he said, showing a hint of confusion. "But my name is Menma. If you wanted to be an imposter you should have at least taken my name to match my face."

"Men…ma?" Naruto said, finally showing understanding. "Are your parents Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze?" he continued excitedly.

Menma's face darkened. "Don't bring my family into your schemes, imposter. It will do you no good," he said coldly. Naruto almost shivered. This guy was more like Sasuke than himself.

"No! No!" Naruto said. "You don't understand! I've been here before! My enemy transported me into another world, a world that he'd created! I have to speak to your - our parents so that they can confirm it!"

Menma seemed to understand and nodded. "I will arrange for it," he said. "For now you can go back into the cell with your friends."

SAKURA POV

I had been awake for a while in the dank cell we were in. My natural resistance to things like this was useful at times, but whatever was up with this place was real. I had had a nasty shock when I had found my hands tied with metal chains - and my strength would do no good to break them because the deliberate pressure would more likely shatter the small bones in my wrist before breaking the actual chains.

The room was in darkness, but I could hear breathing all around me. To be honest, I was more than a little creeped out, so I used my medical ninjutsu to light up the room with a green glow.

I was more than a little shocked at what I saw and would have covered my mouth if they hadn't been tied behind me. I scowled in frustration.

Being in the corner, I could see all my friends sleeping from one side of the room to the other. I counted Ino, Hinata, Shikamaru, Choji, Shino, Kiba, Sai, Tenten, Lee, Neji and even Sasuke. "Guys?" I said, hoping to rouse one awake. I was close enough to brush Shikamaru with my foot, but I had to stretch considerably. I shuffled on my bum a couple of inches, trying not to fall over and nudged the sleeping boy with my foot. He groaned and I felt immense relief. He was okay. But when he rolled over to go back to sleep I growled and kicked him hard.

He rolled back over with a yelp and looked around in confusion.

"Where the hell are we?" he groaned, rubbing the leg that I'd kicked.

"I have no idea. Try and wake someone up."

Shikamaru moved to gently nudge Hinata and she quickly sat up in surprise. She passed on the favour and nudged Sasuke who in turn woke Choji until the entire room was awake and staring around in horror. We were quietly discussing the situation to each other and trying to think up strategies for escape. We were obviously captives somewhere for some reason, but that reason had escaped us, no matter how hard we thought.

When we'd been like this for almost an hour, we heard an all too familiar shout echo through the corridors outside.

"ME? THE IMPOSTER? I DON'T KNOW WHO YOU ARE BUDDY BUT I THINK YOU'VE GOT SOME THINGS WRONG YA KNOW!"

"Naruto!" I exclaimed.

"Is he in trouble?" Hinata asked worriedly.

"It sounds like he's just getting interrogated," Shikamaru said to calm us down. We knew he was right since we hadn't heard any yelps of pain or anything like that. Was that guy even capable of feeling pain?

"It sounds like Naruto's being accused of being an imposter," Choji said, with about as much confusion as I was feeling. My head was buzzing with thoughts. Why were they interrogating Naruto in particular? Why were we being kept captive? Who was in charge of this? The thoughts just kept going in and out and I almost knocked my head against the wall to stop them.

Suddenly, the door to the jail opened and an ANBU guard dragged in a very familiar sight. There were wild shouts of "Naruto!" from all around the cell, and our good friend sat up sheepishly with a relieved grin.

"Are you guys okay?" he said, suddenly sounding serious. When it was confirmed we were all well, he turned to me.

"Sakura, remember when Madara sent us into the Genjutsu world with those weird people that looked like everyone here but were completely opposite in personality?

I was confused, but nodded.

"Somehow, we've winded up back there."


	2. Chapter 2

NO ONE's POV

Naruto explained to her about Menma's interrogation and watched her get her head around the idea. Meanwhile, the others listened in as well. They already knew all about their ordeal in the Genjutsu world, due to the fact Sakura's twin had come to pay them a visit as well (Road to Sakura), so they didn't need to explain too much.

Shikamaru took the reins after that and began trying to ask the questions and answer them at the same time.

"So, we've somehow been transported to another dimension?" he said contemplatively. "Well, I must admit, it does make sense."

"How in the world does it make sense?" Kiba groaned.

"Think about it. Madara had created our polar opposites in this world, based on us. We must have been linked somehow and something triggered to transport us here, into their world."

"That does make sense," Sakura said slowly.

"Of course it makes sense," Ino said. "It's Shikamaru speaking, he never spouts anything else."

"True," Choji said with a chuckle.

Their conversation was stopped short when the door of the cage was opened. Two silhouettes were outlined by the sunlight and the lantern on the wall was quickly lit to reveal a woman with beautiful red hair that flowed down her back in an envious red wave. Next to her was a kind faced man with spiky, yellow hair and clear blue eyes that flickered in the torch light. Minato and Kushina.

"Ma, Pa!" Naruto called in excitement. Then he cleared his throat. "Uh, I mean…"

The red headed woman laughed. "It's okay Naruto. We're your parents in both worlds, right?"

Naruto grinned and nodded while his friends looked on in astonishment.

"Those are your parents?" Kiba asked in bewilderment. Everyone else with the exception of Sakura, Shikamaru, Sasuke and Sai had similar looks on their faces. Sakura had already met them, Shikamaru was never surprised, and Sasuke and Sai always looked the same.

"I-is that… the Fourth Hokage?" Tenten asked in shock.

Minato looked surprised. "Oh - uh no you must have me mixed up with someone else."

No one bothered to correct him, aware that in this world, everything must be different.

Naruto struggled to a standing position and looked to his - or uh, Menma's parents in eagerness.

"So you remember me then?" he asked brightly. "From the last time we met?"

"You mean that time you saved our son from turning evil?" Kushina said with a wink. "Of course! We wouldn't forget something like that, ya know!"

"Yep, she's definitely his mother!" Sai said cheerfully.

Tenten looked at him in annoyance. "How can you be so happy?" she said with a scowl. "We're chained up in another world pretty far away from our real homes."

"Technically I don't feel happy," Sai said with a smile.

"Yes, sorry about that," Minato said sheepishly. "Our son finds it difficult to trust people until they prove they are trustworthy enough."

"Nothing like Naruto," Neji murmured. There was a hint of admiration in his annoyed voice and Naruto shot him a grin. "Thanks buddy!"

"That wasn't really a compliment."

Hinata giggled, knowing her cousin was telling a lie as white as his eyes. Neji shot her a surprised look and Naruto turned back to his parents who were awkwardly standing around.

"Ma? Pa? Could you put a word in with whoever's in charge and tell them we don't mean any harm? We just wanna go home."

The two adults nodded. "We'll try our best, Naruto."

Kushina quickly walked over to wrap the blonde in a comforting hug before they just as quickly exited the room.

Naruto sat in silence for a while, watching his friends argue. He had felt like this for days after meeting his parents the last time. Sad, angry but also happy at the same time. That swirl of emotions that never seemed to blend.

"Cheer up dobe," came the familiar voice of his best friend, Sasuke. Sasuke had been sitting contemplatively in a corner since they had woken and had barely murmured a word. He was in one of those moods where he preferred to observe rather than be involved. Unfortunately, he didn't have much of a choice in this situation.

Naruto looked up quickly and grinned. "Shut up teme, I'm just thinking s'all."

"Don't try, it'll hurt your brain."

Naruto's brow ticked in annoyance when he didn't have a come-back.

They woke in the morning to light spilling in through the single window and the sound of the door being opened. There was a jingling sound and Shizune quickly walked into the room, followed closely by a scary, black, non-cute looking Tonton. She gave them all sharp looks before making the signs for an unsealing jutsu that easily removed all their chains.

Everyone groaned and rubbed their blood deprived arms and legs. They stood unsteadily and even Sasuke had to grab Naruto's shoulder to stop himself from tumbling to the ground. Despite the fact that this instead sent Naruto tumbling to the ground.

"Ugh teme!" a grumpy Naruto snapped, climbing to his feet.

"Hey, you fell," Sasuke said, hiding a smirk as he followed the unfamiliar version of Shizune out the door.

Naruto was close behind him and everyone behind _him._

They followed Shizune through the winding corridors which were the Hokage halls and were finally introduced to the familiar door of the Hokage herself. Tsunade sat behind her desk, familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. She wore a fairly pleasant expression as they stood in front of her and adjusted the glasses on her nose unashamedly. Her eyes were still sharp and she scrutinised each and every one of them quickly.

"As you are probably aware, I am Tsunade. I don't need any introductions because I already know your originals very well, and in fact you will be meeting them today."

"Today m'aam?" Sakura asked in polite surprise.

The woman nodded. "I have provided you all temporary lodgings until we can find you a way back to your home, and due to pressure from the elders, I have had to put guards around to watch over you for now."

Everyone nodded in agreement and bowed.

"Menma, Kushina and Minato have already informed me of your situation, and if it were not for young Naruto and Sakura's help when our village was in need over a year ago, we would be taking much larger precautions, trust me," the woman said sternly.

Again, the group nodded.

Tsunade's face recovered back to its more kind position and she clasped her hands on the desk in front of her. "You will need a host," she said. "To look after you and guide you around any un-familiarities you may have."

The door opened, and in stepped, to everyone's surprise - Naruto's double.

"I am Menma, and I will be your host from now," Menma said in a very un-Naruto like manner.

Everyone's faces dropped and they all looked at Menma. They had heard of him, but had not met him. Ino winked at him, something about his seriousness grabbing her. Naruto caught it and growled at her in annoyance.

"I will take you to your lodgings before taking you to meet your counterparts," Menma said in a calm, serious manner. He was - by no means - unfriendly. But his calm, more gentle stance and voice didn't exactly say "DATTEBAYO!" In other words, he was Naruto's compete opposite. Calm, collected, cool, sharp and professional. Even Tenten caught herself staring (nudged out of it by a secretly annoyed Neji).

"So… Know any good eating places?" Choji said, making a stab at conversation.

"There are many good places for food in the ninja square," Menma said calmly.

"Is there an Ichiraku there?" Naruto asked, eagerly. Menma raised a brow.

"There is an Ichiraku. Do you enjoy ramen?"

"Are you kidding?" Ino said, butting in. "He loves the stuff!"

"I see," Menma said. "I too enjoy ramen. Though I enjoy my mother's cooking too."

Naruto flinched, and Menma looked at him in confusion while Hinata and Sakura looked on in concern.

"N-Naruto-Kun?" Hinata stuttered.

"What is it Hinata?" Naruto asked with a friendly grin.

"Are y-you okay?" she said with a blush.

"Yeah, you're acting all funny," Sakura said worriedly.

"I'm fine guys, don't worry," Naruto said reassuringly.

They continued walking until they reached a yellow, brick building. They climbed the stairs to get inside and found the whole house was (metaphorically) split into two.

"One side is for the females whilst the other side is for the males," Menma said.

"Oh, cool!" Tenten said, slightly surprised.

"How many to a room?" Kiba asked loudly.

"Usually there's three to a room, but for the girls being so few of you, you each get your own room."

"Wow, bonus!" Ino said, high-fiving Tenten, Sakura and a startled Hinata.

"That's all cool!" Naruto said with a grin. "We don't mind sharing rooms!"

"I shall follow Naruto's lead and agree that sharing is the key to ultimate youth!" Lee said, flashing his grin and thumbs up.

Menma blinked. "Uh, okay. Well all of you have time to bath and dress before meeting with your doubles. Of course, the hot springs are towards the back."

"Personal hot-springs?" Kiba exclaimed. "Sweeeeet!"

"Not bad for a shelter," Neji said with a frown.

"Ugh I definitely need a bath," Sakura said with a grimace.

"Same," Ino said, making a similar face.

"I suppose that makes three," Tenten said. "You coming Hina?"

Hinata blushed at the nickname and nodded before all four women headed to their rooms.


	3. Chapter 3

After tidying themselves up, the group were ready to go. Menma, who had been leaning against a wall patiently while they were gone, stood up and escorted them out.

"Geez he is the complete opposite to you dude," Kiba whispered to the blonde.

Naruto nodded with a snigger, thinking of the cat-obsessed Kiba he had met on his last vacation here.

Menma easily led them to a neat BBQ place and invited them in. Choji looked at it excitedly and nudged Shikamaru. "This is our BBQ place back in Konoha!" he said with a grin. Shikamaru nodded with a fond smirk and patted his friend's shoulder.

They were soon seated at a big, square table, usually saved for parties or meetings in the like.

"They should be here soon," Menma said and politely ordered the waitress to wait another few moments. Soon enough, the bell on the door rang and in walked in a group of familiar figures. The group came and sat across from their counterparts with slightly freaked out but polite smiles.

 _ **I'm just going to call the Genjutsu counterparts G Shikamaru and G Neji etc. while we call the originals by their normal names.**_

There was an awkward silence before the waitress came over to take their meals.

Choji was the first to order and he gleefully piled the orders on.

"Geez, how can you eat so much of that greasy food," G Choji asked with a raised brow.

Immediately, Shikamaru noted the serious expression and the much slimmer figure and chuckled.

"Well, technically you're me, so how can you NOT?" Choji demanded. "Barbeque is my favourite!"

"Technically, since you're from the other world, we're your complete opposites," G Choji said intelligently. Everyone from Choji's world looked at G Choji, unused to any Choji's showing an intelligent side.

"Sheesh he acts like Shikamaru," Ino said with a grin.

Across the table, G Shikamaru was piling pork on to the barbeque and looked up with a grin.

"Did someone say my name?" he asked excitedly. "Choji can you pass the sauce?" he whined.

G Choji looked at his friend exasperatedly while Choji eagerly passed over the sauce and grinned.

Two girls who were sitting opposite sides of Menma glared daggers at each other.

"Ugh you're such a cow Hinata," G Sakura spat.

"Me? The cow? You better look in a mirror, Billboard Brow!" G Hinata sneered.

Ino, Sakura and Tenten blinked before bursting into laughter, whist Hinata sat to the side and looked terrified of her counterpart. Subconsciously, she leaned against Naruto, who she was sitting next to.

Sakura and Hinata looked up from each other and glared at the laughing trio.

"Is there a problem?" Hinata seethed.

"Oh - uh nothing!" the girls cried and sat up straight. G Sakura glared at G Hinata and smiled at the three. "How rude of me not to introduce myself," she said politely. She stood up and offered her hand to be shaken and the girls accepted. "I am Sakura."

G Ino giggled with a blush. "Sakura-Chan, I'm pretty sure they already know that," she said shyly.

"Oh. Right," G Sakura said, embarrassed.

Naruto blinked before standing up enthusiastically.

"Hi! I'm Naruto!" he said, ignoring the face plants of the girls at the table.

"Naruto you say?" G Sakura said with a blush and a smile. She glanced at Menma who was eating calmly next to her and Sakura looked on in horror.

G Hinata suddenly stood up as well. "Nice to meet you Naruto," she purred, elbowing G Sakura out of the way. Hinata blushed madly at her counter-parts behaviour and ducked her head into her hands. Meanwhile, everyone else at the table was watching with amusement.

They all sat down and Naruto nodded.

"Yeah, I'm Naruto Uzumaki," he said with a friendly grin.

Menma looked up curiously. "So, you've taken my mother's name?"

Naruto's smile fell. "Yeah, well, I'm kind of an orphan in my world so they gave me my mother's name instead of my father's."

"Why is that?"

"My father was the Fourth Hokage, and died saving the village. I met him and my mother during a… dream and when I told my Sensei, he said that it was to keep me safe from kidnappings and assassinations… the lot."

"Oh, I see," Menma said. The pair were so engrossed in their conversation that they were oblivious to the others around them. "Well, I'm Menma Namikaze here," Menma said, showing the hint of a smile. "Nice to meet you, Naruto Uzumaki."

Oooo

They were still engrossed in dinner and Shikamaru and G Choji were having a conversation on a possible way back home.

"Technically there would have had to be a wormhole between our dimensions for the links between us to be triggered. I think that if we can find this wormhole and invade it with a powerful electric current, the wormhole should reverse course and take us back home."

"Ah," G Choji said. "And how have you come to this conclusion?" G Choji asked, intrigued.

"Honestly? It's a hunch."

Naruto perked up at a thought and turned to his pony-tailed friend.

"Shikamaru, Menma was saying something about finding us at the Temple of Dreams," he said seriously. "Maybe, the wormhole that took us here could be somewhere around there?"

Shikamaru smiled. "That's a start," he said tiredly. "We should start looking tomorrow."

"Honestly Naruto, you didn't think of telling us earlier?" Sakura said, giving him a tiny, annoyed whack that made him wince.

"Don't hit him!" G Sakura and G Hinata exclaimed.

G Sasuke too stood up. He had on stylish clothes and his smirk was enough to make Ino squeal. But Sakura, remembering his playboy attitude last time they had met, merely looked away.

"Sakura darling," G Sasuke cried dramatically. Everyone not from this world choked on their food. He brandished a rose from no-where and introduced it to G Sakura with a bow. Sakura scowled and whacked away the beautiful rose, causing the petals to flutter all over the table.

"I don't need your roses you jerk!" Sakura said, giving him a hard flick to the head. G Sasuke went stumbling back and sat back in his seat with his tail between his legs.

Naruto looked at the real Sasuke with a snicker but found him looking stormily away.

Sakura looked appalled at the way G Sakura had treated G Sasuke and stared aghast at the petals on the table. "Sure, he was a playboy, but did he really deserve that?"  
Ino nudged her and looked serious. "Haven't you noticed that's the way you treat Naruto?"

Sakura suddenly felt really guilty and glanced at the sniggering boy. Then she pushed her food away. "I'm not hungry anymore!" she declared.

"Yeah it's about time we headed back," a tired Shikamaru agreed.

Menma stood up and payed for the bill before anyone else could even pull out the money.

"B-but we should have at least paid for some of it!" a bewildered Tenten stammered.

"Don't worry about it, he always does that," G Tenten said, speaking for the first time tonight.

"He's too nice for his own good."

Tenten looked at the girl who was bandaged and taped in strange places.

"What are they from?" she asked curiously.

G Tenten shrugged, embarrassed. "From my weapons. I'm not very good at aiming."

"You know, I'm a weapon's expert, I can help you train if you like."

G Tenten brightened. "Really, really, really?" she said jumping up and down excitedly like a little kid. Neji who was walking past her chuckled.

There was a crash from behind them and everyone turned, startled. G Neji was on the ground, faced with a furious G Hinata.

"NEJI!" she growled. "You were using your Byakugan to PERV again!"

"No, Hinata I wasn't!" the wide eyed boy yelled in terror. "That would be extremely un-proper of me!" he exclaimed, trying to look indignant. His eyes wandered away and trailed up the legs of a blushing G Ino before he was whacked again.

Tenten who was watching it all turned to Neji was looking scandalised and blushing. She broke into laughter and crouched down on the ground, unable to stop.


	4. Chapter 4

Everyone had gathered in the main room and were discussing the events of the day tiredly.

Kiba was sitting against the wall, listing the data he had gotten from everyone. He had been talking to a very weird, cat loving Kiba and had watched everyone else interact with theirs.

"So, Ino's extremely shy - a lot like Hinata actually," he said, glancing at his team mate. "Shino hates bugs and has an obsession with killing them. Sasuke's a major playboy but has a thing for Sakura. Menma is super serious and doesn't talk much. Shikamaru's an idiot. Choji's un-chubbified and intelligent. Hinata's super sassy and mean and bossy and has a massive thing for Menma. Sakura's almost exactly the same except she has a thing for Menma too. Tenten's a dork who can't aim and acts like a little kid sometimes. Neji's a pervert. Sai is an idiot who can't paint. Lee's suddenly a fashion expert. And I'm obsessed with cats."

"Huh," Shikamaru said, impressed. "I never knew you were so observant."

"Observant as a dog!" Kiba said proudly. Shikamaru knitted his eyebrows at the simile but didn't say anything.

"So we're all complete opposites of ourselves," Ino said in fascination.

"By the way, your counterpart looks so cute with that hairstyle!" Tenten said, referring to the long bangs and the free hair. "You should try it!"

"You think?" Ino said, grasping her hair.

"This isn't a sleepover," Sasuke said, annoyed. "We should focus on how we're going to get back to our village. Without these total weirdos distracting us."

"Aw Sasuke you're just embarrassed that your counterpart was such a pansy," Naruto said, waggling his eyebrows.

Sasuke gave him a cold look and crossed his arms in annoyance.

"We know where the wormhole could be now, so all we need to do is find it," Shikamaru said. "Unfortunately, the temple will be open tomorrow, meaning it will be packed with people. Menma said that it won't be open the day after so it will be perfectly empty for us to use."

"So we'll be stuck here for another day?" Lee said, piping up.

"Yes," Shikamaru confirmed.

"Hey Hinata," Kiba said with a grin. "How did you like your counterpart?"

Hinata frowned. "I-I didn't really like her that much," she said quietly.

"She was kind of scary, wasn't she?" Naruto said with a grin. "I prefer the real Hinata."

Hinata blushed beet red and quickly excused herself to 'go the bathroom'. Naruto looked puzzled. "Did I say something?" he asked worriedly.

"No you idiot," Sakura said with a smile. "She was flattered."

"Why did she run away then?"

All the girls in the room groaned and didn't answer the confused boy.

Naruto soon forgot about it when he felt a pillow hit him in the head. He looked over to see a grinning Kiba and scowled. He picked up his pillow.

"Two can play at that game," he said, making the signs for shadow clone jutsu. He leapt on a bewildered Kiba and hit him with the pillow before running away and hitting Sasuke. On the way he hit Sakura with it and she got up with a shout of "SHANNARO!" and chased after him. Soon it was a full blown pillow fight. Jutsus included. Shikamaru used his shadow possession, Naruto used his shadow clones, and even Sasuke began to join in.

...

They woke in the morning, fresh and a little sore after the pillow fight. They had all fallen asleep in the main room and woken up to the sound of cooking. They followed the smell into the kitchen to find Menma cooking a whole lot of scrambled eggs.

"You can cook too?" Ino exclaimed. "I think I'm in love," she said jokingly.

"You wouldn't be the first," Menma said, making his first attempt at a joke.

"Aw a joke! I'm so proud!" Naruto said, wiping a non-existent tear. Menma raised a brow.

"You're just like my mother," he said, making the non-Naruto's laugh. Naruto actually looked flattered. "That's great, 'ya know'!"

"You speak like her too.

"Speak like who?" said a familiar voice. Kushina soon walked into the room closely followed by her husband and she cheerfully ruffled Menma's hair. After a thought she walked over and ruffled Naruto's as well.

"Speaks like you," Menma said. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought I'd come over and check on you!" she said with a grin. Minato chuckled.

"You've always been nosy."

"Have not 'dattebane'!" she exclaimed with a whine.

"Hey, if it helps, Naruto's nosy too!" Sakura said, contributing to the conversation.

"Am not, dattebayo!" Naruto said with a scowl.

"Ah I see it!" Minato said cheerfully. He clapped Naruto on the shoulder. "He does talk like you Kushina!"

Naruto looked happy and grinned at his parents and Menma allowed a small smile. "It seems that while I inherited my father's personality, you've inherited my mother's," he said thoughtfully.

Kushina ruffled Naruto's hair again before staring around.

"So! What are you all going to be doing today?" she asked enthusiastically.

There were a few murmurs of 'I don't know' but a couple seemed to have answers.

"I'm going to be helping Tenten with target practice," Tenten said cheerfully.

"I'll probably head over to the research labs and see if I can gain some knowledge on wormholes," Shikamaru said with a sigh.

Choji looked at Ino. "You wanna check out the food?"

Ino sighed. "Choji, the restaurants here are the same as the restaurants in _our Konoha_."

"Still, a guy's gotta eat," Choji said. "Anyone wanna come?"

"It's not like I have anything better to do," Kiba muttered. "I wish Akamaru had been zapped here with us. Then I might train or something."

"I'll go," Naruto said. "Only if you promise we'll hit Ichiraku's."

"Sure," Choji said with a shrug. "I'm up for ramen."

"And then after, may we hit the hot-springs?" Lee asked with gusto. "Since training is difficult without Sensei, hot-springs are great to encourage the spirit of youth!"

Tenten turned to Ino, Hinata and Sakura. "Hey, how 'bout a girl's night?"

"That sounds great," Sakura said with a nod.

"Perfect!" Ino exclaimed.

"Yes please Tenten-San," Hinata said with a smile. Then her tummy grumbled and she blushed. She turned to Menma who was serving out the eggs.

"May I h-have some M-M-Menma-Kun?" she asked shyly.

"Definitely Hinata," Menma said with a small smile in her direction.

"Hey, I was just wondering," Naruto said with a frown. "Are you a real kicker with the ladies because I'm… _not_?"

Everyone looked up surprised, at his theory.

"Well that could be a theory," Shikamaru said, oblivious to Naruto's crestfallen look. "But I'd also say that many personalities have been swapped around. Have you noticed?"

"Huh?"

"Back at home, Sakura and Ino were the ones fighting over Sasuke. Now, here the personalities have been swapped around. Menma is more like a Sasuke figure and Hinata who now has a more Ino personality - admittedly slightly more dangerous - is naturally drawn to him and Sakura too."

"Ah, I get that!" Naruto said happily. Everyone in the room had that one thought. 'How the hell does he go from sad to happy in an instant?'


	5. Chapter 5

As promised, Tenten went to the training grounds to help G Tenten practice. G Tenten had off course started early and on Tenten's stroll into the training ground, she had to dodge numerous weapons that had accidentally come flying in her direction.

Upon Tenten's inspection of G Tenten's stance and position, she saw numerous things wrong with it immediately. She shook her head and walked over to G Tenten, treading loudly so as not to startle the girl with a pouch full of weapons.

G Tenten looked over and grinned. "Oh hey Me!" she said, jumping up and down. "Thanks again for helping me with my training!"

"No problem. Now, get back into your stance and position yourself to throw but don't actually."

G Tenten quickly obeyed and got into a clumsy, shaky looking stance that was weak and could easily be tipped over. Tenten glared at her in scrutiny before walking towards her.

"Be compliable. I'll need to move you around, so don't resist."

She easily moved G Tenten's legs so that they were closer together and put one a fair amount in front of the other for tension and balance. She wobbled slightly so Tenten pushed her back forward and her head down slightly for more balance and quicker reaction speed. Then she turned the hand with the shuriken in it sideways and pulled it into a better position in front of the girl, whilst moving her other hand behind her to add momentum to the thrust. All through the process she explained what she was doing and why she was doing it. G Tenten nodded in concentration.

"Memorise this stance perfectly and practice it," Tenten ordered. "For heavier weapons you can lean back a little more, and for light weapons such as shuriken and kunai, leaning forward is best until you get the hang of using it while moving. Now, give it a shot."

G Tenten nodded an affirmative before breathing out and throwing the shuriken. It landed in the middle of the bull's eye and G Tenten stared at it in astonishment. Tenten merely smiled smugly until she was enveloped by a hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" G Tenten said excitedly.

When she had recovered, she took the stance that Tenten told her about with only a little fiddling. Again she took a breath and the shuriken sailed directly to its target. For the rest of the day, G Tenten and Tenten practiced. Tenten took her on to moving targets and then she showed her how to aim whilst in the air.

Meanwhile the boys were currently in the hot-springs, having been to both Ichiraku and BBQ.

"Ugh, I'm stuffed," Kiba said with a loud burp.

"Nice one," came a couple of voices in the room through the steam.

"Thanks," Kiba said with a smirk.

"So… How do you like your counterparts?" Naruto asked awkwardly.

"Mine's a compete weirdo," Kiba complained. "He's always pretending to be a cat and you don't see me pretending to be a dog or anything!"

"You get pretty close," Shino said monotonously.

"Thanks buddy," Kiba said sarcastically. "You can't bear to be near yours."

"The guys kills my clan's heritage. Imagine someone killing all your dogs."

"Good point."

There was a small silence.

"I can't believe mine's a complete _pervert_ ," Neji said in disgust.

"Well that only outlines what a complete gentleman you are," Choji said kindly.

"Well yours is intelligent - what does that say about you?" Kiba asked.

Choji chuckled. "My counterpart may be smart, but he's a kill-joy when it comes to food. 'Oh it's so fattening, and the oils are bad for your body and blah, blah, blah'."

The others chuckled at the mocking of his counterpart.

"Teme, how do you like yours?" Naruto asked Sasuke (who he had to drag along).

"Does it matter?" the raven haired boy asked irritably.

"Yes, teme," Naruto said stubbornly.

"Hn. He's alright."

"Alright? Dude, that guy is loopy."

Only Naruto saw the smirk Sasuke released in the steam and suddenly he seemed to be in much better humour.

"Menma's a nice guy though," Kiba commented.

"Huh, yeah he's fine," Naruto said with a frown.

"Dobe," Sasuke said with a warning frown. Naruto sighed.

"He's _too_ perfect. He's cool and calm and good at everything! And all the girls love him!"

"I hear ya man," Kiba said with a shrug.

"Yes Naruto," Lee said enthusiastically throwing his fist in the sir. "But maybe you should aspire to be like him! He's a you that you want to be, so why not use the youth you have to be perfect?"

Kiba sat up and stared at Lee through the steam. "What? That's a terrible idea!"

"You're right Bushy Brows!" Naruto said determinedly. "I'll try to be a Menma!"

"Oh God!" Kiba said, lying back against the wall.

"Maybe being yourself is a better idea," Sai said wisely. "Menma is basically a separate person so acting like him would be like me suddenly acting like Danzo or Shikamaru acting like Asuma or Hinata acting like Kurenai."

"I hear what you're saying Sai," Naruto said wisely. Everyone rolled their eyes. Naruto's voice was obviously a little deeper and more monotonous than before.

* * *

Tenten, Ino, Sakura and Hinata were digging into their meals as they chatted at Taka-Chan's Pot Roast and Tea House. Tenten was exhausted from her day with her counterpart, but she was satisfied with the results of her time.

"Maybe I should become a sensei," she said wondrously.

"We're all going to be sensei's after we become jounin Tenten," Ino said with a sigh. "I feel bad for any students stuck with me. I'm a terrible sensei."

Multiple topics were dabbled in but it wasn't until half way through the meal that the most uncomfortable topic was reached.

"Soooo…. Hinata," Ino said evilly. "Whaddya think of Menma?"

Hinata looked up and smiled. "I think he's a nice person Ino," she said nicely.

"How does he…compare to Naruto?"

The glass in Hinata's hand cracked and both Sakura and Tenten frowned at Ino.

"Ino," Sakura said disapprovingly. "You can't replace the person you love with anyone even if they look the same! Menma's a completely different person!"

Hinata blushed when Sakura said 'love' but allowed herself a small frown.

"Hey! I didn't say anything about loving him!" Ino said defensively.

"Uh huh. You certainly meant to ask whether he'd make a good Shogi partner," Sakura said sarcastically. "Well, I could have!" the blonde said, flipping her ponytail over her shoulder.

"Please, you can't even play Shogi!"

"Yeah I can!"

Hinata looked at them and cleared her throat. "Why would you ask how he compares to Naruto, Ino-San?" Hinata said, trying to fain confusion.

"Please, everyone knows you like the guy except the guy himself!"

"E-everyone?" Hinata asked in embarrassment. After a short hesitation, all three girls nodded.

"But don't get me wrong, I think you'd be adorable together," Sakura said sincerely.

"R-really?" Hinata asked. Then she looked down sadly.

"What's wrong Hina?" Tenten asked, concerned.

Hinata looked up and sighed. "W-well, he doesn't even notice me now. I'm almost invisible to him. So how could it ever happen?"

"Sasuke doesn't notice me, and you don't see me giving up."

"Sai hardly looked at me after he called me beautiful."

"…"

They all turned to Tenten in exasperation. "C'mon Tenten, we all know you have a thing for Neji," Ino exclaimed boisterously. Tenten turned crimson.

"I do not!" she yelled indignantly.

When only sceptical silence greeted her, she sighed. "Okay, I do."

Hinata smiled. "You have a crush on nee-san?"

"He's not really your brother," Sakura said in confusion.

"Our fathers were twins so that makes us closer, plus he treats me as a sister now. "

The three nodded in understanding.

"Is it really a crush if the guy in speaking is utterly beautiful?" Tenten asked.

"Definitely," her three companions agreed.

"So we all have guys who don't seem to see us Hinata," Sakura said comfortingly. "The only difference is, yours is completely dense and doesn't understand girls."

"B-but, he likes you Sakura-chan!"

Sakura snorted. "That idiot only thinks he likes me because I like Sasuke," she explained. When her friends looked at her questioningly, she sighed. "Notice how Naruto's _always_ tried to beat Sasuke at everything?"

They all nodded, waiting for her to continue.

"The kid never blinked at me until everyone started muttering about how I liked Sasuke. That's when he started to 'like' me."

Blue, brown and white eyes widened in understanding and Hinata allowed a small smile.

"Honestly Hinata, I think you have the best relationship with your man out of all of us," Ino said.

"H-how is that?" Hinata asked in confusion.

Ino gave an exasperated sigh. "Honestly Hina. Sasuke hardly pays attention to Sakura, Sai hardly speaks to me, and Neji treats Tenten like a guy. Naruto treats you like a good friend and is friendly to you. He constantly pays you compliments even if he doesn't understand why you're always blushing and fainting and he respects you."

Hinata blushed and smiled elatedly. "You really think so?"

"We freaking know so."

Hinata drew herself up more confidently and began to eat with a faraway look in her eyes.

 **Please review and tell me what you think so far!**


	6. Chapter 6

When they finished their meal, they decided to head around to the park. When they got there, they noticed with surprise that the boys were there too. Kiba lifted his hand in greeting and the girls began to head over.

Hinata suddenly froze and Tenten turned to look at her questioningly. She turned to where Hinata's eyes were locked and squinted to see Naruto looking lonely on the swings. In a flash, Hinata was there, and she hardly had time to blush before she said something.

"What's wrong Naruto-kun?" she asked worriedly.

Naruto looked up in surprise and gave her a wide smile before suddenly turning serious again.

"Nothing Hinata," he said simply.

"O-oh," Hinata said, disappointed. Suddenly, Kiba was next to her, and she sensed the group behind her.

"Ignore him Hinata," he said. "Lee gave him some stupid advice to 'strive to be like Menma' and now he's actually doing it."

"It's not stupid advice," Naruto said monotonously. "If everyone loves Menma than I can be like Menma."

"Naruto," Sakura said. "Menma's a nice guy and all, but you're our friend, and we wouldn't want to replace you."

Naruto looked in her direction and smiled. "Thanks Sakura, but this is kind of cool. I feel like a different person now, and maybe people will treat me better."

Hinata was suddenly angry, and she turned to the Menma-Wannabe slowly.

"Why would you try to be like a person you're not?" she asked, her voice surprisingly loud with her emotions. Everyone turned to look at her, stunned.

"Menma is basically a different person, and he has all his own qualities that make him a good person. But Naruto, if you pretend to be someone who isn't like you at all, you're getting rid of all your qualities that make you Naruto Uzumaki, the hero of the Leaf Village and future Hokage. Do you really want to change yourself to be miserable? A non-smiling, non-laughing, serious person who is nothing like you? I don't know about everyone else, but I love the irresponsible, laughing, reckless, impulsive and adorable person that is Naruto Uzumaki, and that isn't going to change!"

She stopped and suddenly blushed crimson. ' _I just confessed to Naruto_!'

She looked around nervously and noticed that everyone was staring at her as if she had grown a shuriken from her nose. She turned to Naruto who was staring at her with beautiful, glistening eyes. Suddenly, he launched himself from the swing and hugged her.

"Thank you Hinata!" he said happily. "You're right. Who cares if Menma's cooler than me, at least I can laugh and be with my friends."

' _Friends?_ ' Hinata thought in disappointment. ' _He mustn't have registered my confession in the muddle of all my words_.' Then she hugged him back. She didn't mind. He was hugging her and that was all that mattered. And then the world went black and she went limp in his arms.

"Hinata?"

She woke to blue eyes staring at her worriedly and she slowly sat up.

"You fainted," Sakura explained, and Hinata blushed in embarrassment. She blinked in the glow of the street light and looked around. Before almost falling back in shock. G Hinata was standing right next to her and was staring at her with contempt.

"Don't mind me, I was just walking home," G Hinata said, putting on a more friendly face.

Naruto lifted a hand to help Hinata up but G Hinata took it instead and wound an arm around his neck in an uncomfortably affectionate gesture.

Hinata looked away and stood up. She was about to walk away when she turned to look at Naruto and saw how uncomfortable he was. He leaned away from G Hinata and was trying to politely tell her to get off, but she was ignoring him. G Hinata put her other hand around his neck and turned to smirk at Hinata.

The others watched the scene in uncomfortable stillness, sensing the tension between the two dark haired girls. Finally, Hinata made up her mind, when G Hinata turned back towards the sweating Naruto, she began to walk towards them casually. She spotted a root on the ground and calculated the distance between her and the white eyed snake. She deliberately looked away and moved her foot in the direction of the root. Her foot caught, and she was sent stumbling, full speed towards Naruto and G Hinata.

"Whoa," she yelled, and put out her arms, aiming towards the small space left between Naruto and her counterpart. The latter's eyes widened in her direction and she fell hard, forcing the two apart. Naruto easily jumped away and caught Hinata before she fell, but G Hinata was sent sprawling on the ground.

' _What have I done_?' Hinata thought in sudden horror of her actions. Naruto had fallen backwards when he had caught her and she was held tight to his chest.

"Naruto-kun! I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed.

Naruto opened his eyes and grinned at her. "It's okay. Thanks for the save."

Hinata blushed. He was more observant than people knew. She pushed herself off him and Naruto reluctantly let go. She suddenly felt like she was missing something without him on her and unbeknownst to her, he felt the same.

She turned towards G Hinata who was on her feet, brushing the dirt off her pants.

"I'm sorry Hinata-san," Hinata said sincerely. She really did not know what had possessed her.

"S'okay," G Hinata said to everyone's surprise. "I've got my own foxy guy." With a grin, she headed off home.

She turned to help Naruto up and looked around at everyone else nervously. This time they were looking at her as if she had grown a bouquet of shuriken out of her nose. Ino, Sakura and Tenten were whispering, and she heard something that sounded like, "We should take notes from now on," before Naruto took her hand (to her bewilderment and surprise) and announced that they should probably go home.

"Whoa, big move blondie," Sakura said, looking at the hand hold. A pale blush dusted Naruto's cheek before he grinned. "I don't want her to go falling through people again."

Everyone chuckled and even Hinata giggled light headedly.


	7. Chapter 7

They were eating dinner when Shikamaru pushed away his bowl and cleared his throat in a business-like manner. Everyone turned to him expectantly and noted his serious face.

"We've found the worm-hole," he said, tightening his pony-tail. "As I said, the worm-hole needs to be invaded with a very strong electric current to take us back to the real world."

He turned to Sasuke. "Do you think your chidori is powerful enough to invade the wormhole and reverse the turn?"

"Easily," Sasuke said confidently.

Shikamaru seemed satisfied and relaxed into a more comfortable position.

"We'll need to have the equipment set up, so I think that if we meet up mid-afternoon tomorrow at the Temple of Dreams, we should be home before the sun hits the tree tops."

The group blinked tiredly before smiling. They would be home by tomorrow.

Tenten yawned. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm beat. Training myself how to use weapons was surprisingly tiring. But, I'm kind of gonna miss those guys."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Naruto put down his chopsticks. "I'm... not hungry."

"Wow, that's a change," Kiba joked. Naruto attempted a weak smile, but sighed.

"What's wrong Naruto?" Sakura demanded. "Spill."

"It's nothing."

"Dobe," Sasuke said warningly.

Naruto sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm going to miss my parents, that's all."

Hinata put a comforting hand on his and Sakura gently patted his shoulder.

"We get it Naruto," Ino murmured. "But - at least you got to really meet them."

Naruto nodded. "You're right Ino. Who am I to want things? There are people worse off than me out there. Some people never even get to know their parents. I should appreciate what I have."

Everyone looked at each other in astonishment, but smiled at each other. That was their Naruto.

-

Everyone was up bright and early the next day. Breakfast was had before they all made their way to Konoha Square where they met with Menma and the others.  
"So, you're going home today," G Hinata said awkwardly.  
G Sakura threw her arms around Sakura before pulling away and wiping a tear. "Say hello to Mom and Dad for me, okay?" she asked tremulously.  
"I will," Sakura said with a sad smile. Sakura turned quickly and crashed into Sasuke's chest. She pulled back and blushed.  
"Dude, what's your secret?" G Sasuke asked curiously. G Sakura wacked him across the head, but Sasuke seemed to look smug before turning away.

Menma began to lead them in the direction of The Temple of Dreams. They continued in silence for what seemed like an age before they reached a very large looking cavern with a wide concrete floor. The cave was big that they could all join hands and none of them would even come close to touching the walls.

"So... where would we find a gigantic worm hole around here?" Kiba asked, looking around. "This cave is huge."

"It goes on for approximately three kilometres," Menma told them.  
"And...what is that in normal measurements?" Naruto asked.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Those _are_ normal measurements. Maybe if you'd payed more attention in class-"  
"About five of Konoha's training grounds stuck together," Choji said. Naruto shot him a grateful look before turning to examine the pale rock walls..

They wandered deeper into the cave before both Hinata's and Jeji's activated tehri Byakugans and began to examine their surroundings.

"Hinata, are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Neji asked.

"An interference to our Byakugans about 2.5 kms from here?" G Hinata answered.

Neji looked about as surprised as Neji could get and Hinata giggled at her cousin's expression. G Hinata shrugged.

"Okay, which Byakugan user should I ask?" Shikamaru asked boredly.

"Me," Neji and G Hinata said at the same time. "Me," they said again, glaring at each other. "No, me!"

"Our Hinata, would you do the honours please?"

G Hinata and Neji scowled and G Neji discreetly stared at Ino's Whatsits before Hinata nervously answered.

"As Neji and G Hinata mentioned, there is a disturbance roughly 2.5 kilometres from here which is quite probably where the worm-hole can be found."

"Thanks Hinata," Shikamaru said with a smile. Everyone began to walk forwards before Hinata made a sound.

"Um..."

Everyone paused and turned to look at the dark haired beauty. She fiddled with her fingers until Shikamaru spoke. "Something wrong Hinata?"

She jumped. "Um... It's just that... by looking at the wave signatures of the worm hole, the electric current is moving very quickly in an anti-clockwise direction. My Father always told me that the faster a worm hole signature is moving, the more powerful the suction is... If you wouldn't mind me pointing out... If we brings anyone from this world near the worm-hole, they would be in particular danger if the worm-hole were to attempt to consume us. And during Sasuke's attempt of putting his Chidori through the worm hole, we may have to tie him down, or else he may..."

"End up in a different dimension," Shikamaru finished with a frown. "Thanks Hinata, I can't believe I didn't pick that up earlier. We may have to say goodbye here," he said, addressing their twins.

Everyone looked to their counterpart slowly. They either shook hands, smiled at each other, nodded or hugged. They were about to go separate ways before two ninjas joined the group. It was Minato and Kushina. "I hope you don't plan on leaving without saying goodbye," Kushina said to Naruto sadly.

"I did it before," Naruto said with a small smile.

Kushina stepped forward and drew the boy into a tight hug, and everyone watched on with sad smiles. Minato stepped in and gave the boy a hug as well.

"You take care of yourself now," Kushina said, wiping a small tear. Naruto wiped his eyes as well before raising a hand to his parents and turning away. "It was great to meet you two again. And everyone else. And you too, Menma."

His twin smiled.

"I feel like I've learned so much from you... I think we all have learned from every single one of you. Here is where we part. And I don't think we'll ever meet again. So goodbye."

Everyone raised a hand in farewell before going in opposite directions.

...

They had been walking for quite a long time before anything eventful actually happened. "Where the hell could this worm-hole actually be?" Naruto grumbled.

"Does anyone actually know what it would look like?" Sakura asked boredly.

"Well, it should be fairly small due to the lack of energy it's taking in," Shikamaru told them. "And also, chakra blue."

"Like that?" Sai asked, pointing immediately above them.

Everyone looked up to see a swirling blue vortex hovering just below the ceiling. The ceiling was high above them and the vortex itself was about the size of a head.

"How are we meant to get up there?" Ino exclaimed.

"Once Sasuke invades it with his Chidori, it should actually start to suck us in," Shikamaru said, tightening his pony tail. "But first we need to get him up there."

"Sasuke's chakra-control is good enough to support him while he climbs up there," Sakura said with a smile.

Shikamaru gave Sasuke a look. "You think you can climb up there and Chidori the crap out of that worm hole?"

Sasuke frowned. "Easy."

"Hold on," Neji said. "Didn't Hinata mention something about tying him down?"

"Yeah, good point. Sakura, do you think you can hold onto this rope if we tie it to Sasuke?" Shikamaru asked, turning to the pinkette.

"Is that even a challenge?" Sakura scoffed. "Of course."

Shikamaru grinned. "Tenten, pass a thick rope."

Tenten pulled off her bag and rummaged around for a scroll. With a grin she pulled one out and summoned a rope. Shikamaru chucked the rope to Sai. "Use your trained skills to tie a thick knot," he said with a grin. Sai smiled and took the rope, wrapping it around Sasuke's waist and quickly tying a complicated knot. Sasuke tugged on the rope and looked satisfied when it didn't shift. He smirked. "Here goes."  
"Quit showing off," Naruto muttered.

Sasuke put one foot on the cave wall and began to run up its stone surface. His chakra control kept him close to the wall, but around the middle of the wall, he looked down. "I can feel the pull of the worm-hole," he yelled down. "If I let go now, Sakura, keep a tight hold on the rope!"

The pink haired girl nodded determinedly and tightened her hold on the rope.

Sasuke released his chakra hold on the wall and began to float towards the worm-hole. His rope tensed before her was up to it and he looked down. "Sakura, let me have a little rope and ease me towards the worm-hole."  
Sakura complied and Sasuke moved closer to the worm-hole. Finally, he put up a hand signalling for her to stop. She obeyed and he stared straight into the swirling face of the blue vortex.

"Chidori!" he yelled, and produced a powerful lightning ball. He forced it towards the worm-hole and it went coursing through the water like surface, invading deep into the blue chakra pool. There was a vibrating sound, then a whooshing sound before the direction of the spinning worm-hole began to change and it began to spin clockwise.

"Alright," Shikamaru said. "If we let go now, we should float up towards the worm-hole."

"What if we end up somewhere else?" Ino asked with concern.

"Then we try again until we end up home," Shikamaru said with a tired smile. "Now let's go home."

Everyone let go of their mild chakra control on the ground (Tenten let go of Lee) and began to float up towards the vortex. Sakura kept a firm hold on Sasuke's rope and he was the first one into the worm-hole. One by one they all entered the chakra blue portal.

...

Naruto woke up first. He opened his eyes to see a surprised looking Tsunade staring down at him. With a yelp he leapt to his feet.

"Granny Tsunade?" he asked, hesitantly.

"Naruto?" Tsunade asked sarcastically. "Can you tell me why you and your friends, who have been missing for three days, suddenly fell from the ceiling, onto my desk?"

Naruto looked down and saw he was standing on a broken desk, wood scattered around the room. He looked around and saw, to his relief, that everyone was lying asleep around him. Finally, he looked up at the very confused blonde next to him and threw himself at her, hugging her tightly.

After a surprised stumble, Tsunade laughed and put her arms around him, hugging him back. "Do you know how worried I've been?" she muttered into his jacket.

"Huh?" Naruto asked with a grin. "Nothing you dolt," the 5th Hokage said, flicking him on the forehead. "Care to explain this?" She gestured to the sleeping teenagers around them and Naruto nodded with a grin. "This might take a while."

 **I'm so sorry it took me so long to update the last three chapters! I'll admit I completely forgot about this story for a while - I uploaded it on Wattpad as well, the finished copy, but never completed it on . Nevertheless, upon logging back in and seeing all the beautiful reviews and comments you all left, I was inspired to finish the job. So thank you so much!**


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